Lawmakers are likely to revisit open meetings bill next session

Rep. Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, back row center, spoke Feb. 22, 2024 on a bill that would increase penalties for people who violate Iowa's open meetings law as well as require trainings on open records and open meetings laws for elected and appointed officials. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

A bill meant to strengthen the state’s open meetings law that was vetoed by the governor last week will likely be reconsidered in the next legislative session without a last-minute amendment that undercut its purpose, said Rep. Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs.

“It’s something we need to do,” he told the Iowa Capital Dispatch. “I was disappointed it got messed up at the end.”

House File 2539 would have increased the penalties for violating transparency requirements for governmental bodies, with fines of up to $12,500 for the members of county and school boards and city councils, among others.

But an amendment that was adopted in the Iowa Senate and approved by the House on the last day of this year’s legislative session had the potential to create an “enormous loophole” in the law, according to the Iowa Public Information Board.

The amendment sought to clarify that a majority of a government body could attend a gathering “hosted or organized by a political party, political candidate or civic organization” without running afoul of the law, but the caveat was inserted into the bill in a manner that would allow official deliberations to be made in secret during those gatherings, Erika Eckley, IPIB’s executive director, wrote in a letter to the governor before the veto.

Those discussions are typically required to be public, with at least 24 hours of advance notice.

Siegrist, who managed the bill in the House, said the late change created an “unintended consequence” that might have been corrected had the Senate acted more expeditiously. The House overwhelmingly approved it in late February — nearly two months before the end of the session.

Current law already allows the attendance of social events where official business isn’t discussed.

Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, who managed the bill in the Senate and spoke in favor of the amendment, did not respond to requests to comment for this article.

“Although well-intentioned, the amendment to the definition is unnecessary and will cause confusion,” Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote in her veto letter.

She further lamented that the Senate removed a provision from the bill that would have required the members of governmental bodies to receive training about the state’s transparency requirements.

That is something that will likely be included in future open-meetings legislation, Siegrist said.

“We preferred the House version, which calls for more training,” he said. “We absolutely need to go back to it next year.”

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